


The Exception

by lizzy_stardust_18



Category: Dear Evan Hansen - Pasek & Paul/Levenson
Genre: Jared is a fucking idiot, M/M, Mentions of Suicide, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, also like half of this is kleinsen friendship bc that's the good stuff right there, basically canon-typical stuff, it's actually kind of really sweet, jared finds connor just in time, jared needs to stop the acorn jokes but he won't
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-11
Updated: 2018-06-11
Packaged: 2019-05-21 03:37:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14907584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lizzy_stardust_18/pseuds/lizzy_stardust_18
Summary: “Are people going to call the cops if they see the resident school psychopath trying to break into your home?”





	The Exception

**Author's Note:**

> yell at me on tumblr if u want: http://lizzy-stardust-13.tumblr.com

Jared didn’t like being outside except at summer camp, and even then he didn’t want to be outside after dark. He was a modern technology kind of guy, and didn’t understand why someone would willingly subject themselves to being eaten by mosquitoes at night when they could otherwise be curled up watching Netflix with air conditioning and a bottle of whiskey, sobbing late into the night over the fact that they had no friends. Not that Jared ever did that. He had plenty of friends. Well, he only really had Evan, but he thought Evan counted as plenty, even though he’d never let him know that. He dimly wished Evan were with him right then. Evan was the type of outdoorsy person who probably would be okay with being locked outside for the night while everyone else in his house was gone for several days (once he got over the initial panic, that is.) 

 

He wondered if he should set aside his pride for the night and go to Evan’s to ask for help. He decided there wasn’t really anything else he could try to do to get into his house, so he turned and walked down the sidewalk toward Evan’s house. Evan only lived a few streets over, so it wasn’t a long walk, but the night was egregiously warm and didn’t appear to be cooling  down at all, and Jared quickly found himself breaking a sweat on the back of his neck. Gross. He finally made it to Evan’s house, which greeted him with a locked door and all of the lights turned off. Right, of course. He should have remembered that Evan and his mom had gone out for a little “weekend retreat” to celebrate Evan making it through the first week of school without having a total nervous breakdown, which, if Evan’s freakout over Connor Murphy stealing his sex letter was anything to go off of, was an impressive achievement that was worth celebrating. Still, it left Jared without anywhere to go for the night. He opened up Snapchat and took a picture of the door. 

 

_ ofc the one night im locked out of my house is the night u decide to have a fuckin social life,  _ he captioned the picture and sent it to “Tree Kink Dude” (a contact name that Evan had begged him to change for months to no avail.)  

 

Evan’s reply was almost immediate. He sent him a chat instead of a snap. _ Are you okay? Is there anywhere you can go?  _

 

Jared smiled to himself. Even though he made the world’s worst jokes and said the meanest things, somehow Evan still managed to be nice to him.  _ im good bro relax, im just gonna go to the park for a bit. _ He thought for a moment and then added:  _ maybe ill send u some pics at the park to satisfy ur tree kink.  _

 

_ I don’t have a “tree kink.” By the way, are you ever going to change my contact name?  _

 

_ who fuckn types out ‘by the way’ instead of just btw u look like a nerd ass loser. maybe ill change ur name to that.  _

 

_ Please don’t.  _

 

Jared got an idea and changed Evan’s contact name, grinning as he did so and adding a copious number of emojis. He reopened the chat with Evan. 

 

_ i changed ur name to ‘the gaycorn,’ get it bc ur an acorn _

 

Evan’s reply was slightly delayed.  _ Oh. That’s creative.  _

 

_ i worked hard on it do u like it _

 

_ No, not really. _

 

_ u break my heart Hansen  _

 

_ Sorry.  _ A moment later Evan added:  _ I’m busy right now so I’m gonna talk to you later.  _

 

Jared sighed and pocketed his phone. Lately he’d felt Evan slipping away, almost as if the day he’d inevitably get fed up with Jared and drop him was swiftly approaching. He knew he should be nicer to Evan or at least let him know he cared somehow, but for a complicated, tangled mess of reasons, he couldn’t. Evan would likely go all the way to his grave never knowing that Jared thought he was the cat’s pajamas, and Jared would just have to live with that. He didn’t know if he could live without Evan’s friendship though, and that was a thought that scared him half to death. He quickly pushed it out of his mind. He didn’t  _ need _ Evan. He enjoyed ribbing him and he enjoyed his presence, but Jared couldn’t afford to  _ need _ anyone. Even to help him get back into his house. 

 

He made his way across the neighborhood and stopped at the entrance to the local park. It seemed completely devoid of high schoolers sneaking out to smoke weed or dry hump in the shelter, which Jared took to be a good sign. He walked aimlessly around the park, stopping every now and then to take a picture of a tree on Snapchat only to delete it. He didn’t actually need to irritate Evan more than he apparently already had tonight. He kept Evan at an arm’s length as it was, but it would be senseless to push him away completely, especially by Snapchatting him dumb pictures of trees. 

 

He was broken out of his reverie by the sound of a sniffle nearby. He turned and saw a boy curled up underneath a tree, his shoulders wracked with sobs. He stepped a bit closer and realized with a jolt that it was Connor Murphy.  _ What the hell is wrong with him?  _ Jared thought. “Hey man, you good?” he called out to Connor. He didn’t seem to hear Jared, but he rather folded into himself even further and cried harder. “Hey, Murphy!” Jared yelled. Connor’s head snapped up, and the look in his eyes chilled Jared to the bone. He looked completely helpless, as though he’d given up and succumbed to despair. His sorrowful expression was immediately replaced with one of annoyance and distrust at the sight of Jared. 

 

“Jared? What the fuck do you want?” 

 

“Dude, you are crying harder than Alice about to drown in her own tears, I wanted to see what was going on.” 

 

Connor’s lip curled. The expression in his eyes reminded Jared of a wounded animal. “Why? So you can make fun of me some more? No thanks.” 

 

Jared sighed. “You know I don’t mean any of that shit I say, right? It’s just a fucking joke?” 

 

Connor rolled his eyes. “It’s not very funny,” he said, hiccuping slightly.  

 

“Fine, okay, I guess it’s not.” He put his hands up in defeat. “Look, if I  _ promise _ not to mock you, will you tell me what’s going on?” 

 

Connor hesitated a moment, tears still rolling down his cheeks. “Just a lot of bullshit at home is all.” He avoided making eye contact with Jared. Well, that wouldn’t do. Jared plopped down unceremoniously beside Connor. 

 

“Tell me your tale of woe,” he said in a mock British accent. Surprisingly, Connor laughed, a short, genuine sound that made Jared’s chest feel tight. Connor seemed to unfold from himself a little and he wiped his eyes on the sleeve of his hoodie. 

 

“Just my sister fucking hates me and my mom is at the end of her rope and my dad wants me to,” he imitated a rough voice, “ _ get my shit together and be responsible _ ,” he rolled his eyes, “and like I get that he loves me but I wish he’d realize I’m not gonna be his idea of a perfect son, you know? And I need help. He thinks I’m doing all this crazy shit for attention, but I’m not.” He shifted and Jared could see fresh tears forming in his eyes. “I don’t actually  _ want _ to terrorize my sister or push random people around, I just have these completely fucked perceptions of people’s intentions and I just…” he sobbed and covered his face with his hand. “I can’t take this anymore. I can’t be like this anymore.” 

 

Jared was at a loss for words. He wasn’t exactly the most stellar person to talk to about mental health issues, but after hanging out with Evan’s anxiety-ridden self for so long, he understood it a little. Jared reached out awkwardly and gently patted Connor on the shoulder. Connor looked over at him with wet, puffy eyes. “Hey, it’s gonna be okay,” Jared said, his voice sounding traitorously hollow. “Just cause you’re having a rough time and don’t like yourself right now doesn’t mean you’ll feel this way forever, you know? I mean, you can reinvent yourself if you want.” 

 

Connor looked like he was at a loss for words. He just stared at Jared with a sort of misty look in his eyes, an expression which seemed out of place on him but Jared thought suited him quite nicely. “Since when did you get so good at delivering motivational speeches?” Connor asked with a watery laugh. 

 

“I’m just magical like that.” He patted Connor’s shoulder again. “Listen, do you like, need anything? Like are you gonna be okay?” Connor nodded and leaned into Jared’s touch. 

 

“I’ll be alright, I’m just,” he sighed and puffed out his cheeks, “I’m just fucking miserable right now and I don’t think I can go back there tonight.” 

 

“Did you fight with your family?” 

 

“Yeah. I broke things. I made Zoe cry. I can’t face any of them so I’m just, you know. I’m here.” Connor looked around the park and sighed before he turned back to Jared and looked at him quizzically. “What are you doing here, by the way?” 

 

“I just got locked out of my house. My parents aren’t home and I left the keys inside so there’s no way for me to get back in.” Jared shrugged. “C’est la vie.” 

 

“Um.” Connor looked sheepishly down at the ground before looking up and fixing Jared with a stare. “I have a lock pick with me right now. If you want me to you know. Help.” 

 

“Why the hell do you have--You know what, I’m not gonna question it. If you’re up for it I’ll take you up on that offer.” 

 

“Yeah, I mean,” Connor shrugged. “It’s not like I’ll do anything else useful tonight.” 

 

“Cool. You wanna uh, stay here for a bit or come with me to my house?” 

 

Connor looked thoughtful for a moment before shakily getting to his feet. “Let’s get the hell out of here.” Jared stood up and nodded. 

 

They walked together out of the park, their footsteps falling into sync. He was acutely aware of his own hands swinging at his side while he walked, contrasting with Connor’s, which were shoved into the pockets of his hoodie. The silence between them was a little uncomfortable, especially given that they’d never really had a positive interaction before, but Jared found that he liked walking with Connor. There was something warm about him that Jared had never noticed before, and he found himself slightly mesmerized by him. The swish of his hair, the awkward way he moved, and the sound of his slightly uneven breaths all had Jared enraptured for reasons he didn’t want to think about. Connor noticed him staring and raised an eyebrow at him. Jared averted his eyes, feeling his face heat up. 

 

They eventually made it to Jared’s house and Connor pulled a small, oddly bent paper clip out of his pocket. “Ooh, is that a lockpick in your hand or are you just happy to see me?” Jared asked, and Connor rolled his eyes. He bent to work on the lock, but he paused and turned to Jared. 

 

“Are people going to call the cops if they see the resident school psychopath trying to break into your home?” 

 

“Not if I’m with you. Besides, you shouldn’t sell yourself so short, man, you don’t really look like a psychopath. Your vibe could totally be like, a sexy-rock-star thing if you were just a little more confident. And if you smiled.” 

 

Connor raised an eyebrow. “Sexy rock star,” he said in a flat tone. Jared averted his gaze and shifted uncomfortably. “You think I’m sexy?” 

 

“I said your vibe, not you. You yourself are not sexy, but you could project sexy out into the world if you wanted to.” Connor narrowed his eyes at him but then shrugged. 

 

“Good thing you clarified you don’t find  _ me _ sexy, cause I think you’re pretty fuckin’ repulsive yourself,” Connor said, his voice lacking any real bite. Jared’s stomach did a weird turn at that. 

 

“Dude, I’m getting eaten alive out here,” he swatted at an invisible mosquito, “can you just pick my fucking lock?” 

 

“Only if you pull my hair and say my name,” Connor said, bending and inserting the lockpick. Jared frowned and furrowed his eyebrows. 

 

“Connor, what the hell, that didn’t even make any sense.” 

 

“Yeah it wasn’t exactly my best line.” Connor grimaced and then focused very intently on picking Jared’s lock. Without anything else to divert his attention, Jared found himself staring at Connor again. His tongue protruded a little from between his lips as he concentrated, and he turned his head to get a different angle and his hair fell onto his shoulder, obscuring his face from view. Without thinking, Jared reached out and tucked Connor’s hair behind his ear and brushed it off of his shoulder, secretly marveling at the softness of it. Connor froze underneath Jared’s touch. He pursed his lips and then glanced almost shyly up at Jared. 

 

“I um, figured your hair might get in your eyes so, yeah.” Jared looked away, suddenly becoming very invested in staring up at the sky. He didn’t notice the tiny smile that turned up the corners of Connor’s mouth ever-so-slightly, and he only looked back at him when he heard the click of the door unlocking. Connor opened the door and bowed dramatically. 

 

“Enter, my good sir,” Connor said. 

 

“Thanks my man,” Jared said, his voice sounding oddly thin. He walked through the door and then paused and turned around when he realized Connor wasn’t following him. “Dude, are you a fuckin’ vampire? Do you need to be invited in? Come on,” he beckoned for Connor to follow him. 

 

“Okay,” Connor said quietly. He shoved his hands in his pockets and stepped over the threshold. Jared closed the door behind him. 

 

“Welcome to my humble abode,” Jared said drily. He made his way into the kitchen, leaving Connor still standing by the door. He rummaged through the cabinet until he found what he was looking for. He returned to Connor and held up the bottle of Smirnoff. “Do you drink?” he asked. Connor nodded. “You want some?” 

 

Connor gave him a tiny smile. “Hell yeah,” he said. Jared opened the bottle and took a swig from it, grimacing at the bitter taste. He handed it to Connor, who took a massive gulp, his Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat as he did so. Jared couldn’t help but stare. They made their way into the kitchen and leaned against the counter, swapping the bottle back and forth. Connor seemed to loosen up as they got more considerably drunk, and Jared knew he was in for a ride when Connor propped himself against the counter and began to regale Jared with stories of the trouble he’d been in at school. Jared was surprised to find out a large amount of it wasn’t actually Connor’s fault, even though Connor seemed to disagree.

 

“So there I fuckin’ was, at my locker, just trying to get my shit and go to my next class, and this group of guys starts fucking accusing me of having an incestuous relationship with Zoe. They like, wouldn’t leave me alone about it either. I think she grabbed my hand or something at school and I guess that was enough for them?” Connor shrugged and then continued. “So I try to walk away and they grab me and this one guy’s like ‘say you wanna fuck your sister.’ So I just say ‘you wanna fuck your sister,’ and then I  _ duck _ .” Jared snorted. “My face was fucked up for weeks afterwards, but God, it was so worth it.” Connor’s eyes twinkled as he told the story. He looked into the mostly-empty bottle and tipped it upside-down, pouring the last of the droplets onto his tongue. He set the bottle next to Jared on the counter and then sighed, looking Jared in the eye. He didn’t take his hand off of the bottle, and Jared found himself bracketed on one side by Connor’s arm. 

 

“People need to quit being dicks to you at school, man,” Jared said. “I mean, I know I’m one of em but like, shit, you’re not that bad.” 

 

“You’re not that bad either,” Connor waved him off. “I mean yeah, you’re kind of an ass, but like…” he trailed off and studied Jared’s face. “I can’t figure you out. You say so much mean shit but then you turn around and you’re actually secretly really nice. I don’t understand you. Why don’t you act nice at school?” 

 

“Cause I’m not actually a nice person.” Jared rubbed his eyes under his glasses as an excuse not to look Connor in the eye. “I just sometimes...make an exception.” He gestured weakly in Connor’s direction as he said it. 

 

“Why am I the exception?” Connor turned his head. 

 

“You were um, you were just there tonight?” That clearly wasn’t the answer Connor wanted, and he looked disappointed, but he pushed the bottle further behind Jared, effectively leaning in closer to him. 

 

“I’m glad I was there tonight. I think I like being your exception,” Connor said, a small smile gracing his features. Jared inhaled sharply as though he was about to say something, and he heard Connor draw breath as well, but the moment was broken by the vibration of Connor’s phone. Connor rolled his eyes and pulled it out to answer it, and as he shifted, his hair brushed Jared’s cheek, and Jared suddenly registered just how damn close Connor had been standing.  _ Oh, God.  _ Connor’s hoodie sleeve was almost touching Jared’s arm, and he debated whether or not to move it. He decided to stay where he was. Connor picked up the call, and Jared immediately heard a concerned woman’s voice from the other end. 

 

“Hey, mom,” Connor said, his voice wavering slightly. “No, yeah I’m uh, I’m okay. I’m with…” he trailed off and looked at Jared, his expression lost and anxious. 

 

“His friend! I’m not a drug dealer!” Jared yelled, a little too loud. Connor shook his head at Jared but he grinned, and Jared felt warmth spread throughout his being. 

 

“I’m with my friend Jared. I’m safe. We’re safe. It’s all okay.” He nodded and replied to his mother’s questions with “mm-hmms” and “yeahs” for about a good minute. “Hey mom?” he said. “Can you uh, can you tell Zoe and dad I’m sorry? For all this shit?” His mother said something Jared couldn’t make out. “Love you too,” Connor said softly before hanging up. He turned back to Jared and gave him a tiny smile. “Sorry about that,” he said. 

 

“Nah, it’s cool.” They looked at each other for a moment, neither of them saying anything. Jared was suddenly overcome by the urge to reach out, and he placed a hand on Connor’s arm, playing it off by asking him a question. “You wanna play some video games or something?” Connor looked at him in surprise but then nodded. 

 

They made their way upstairs to Jared’s room and Connor shucked off his shoes and flopped unceremoniously onto the bed, crossing his abnormally long legs. Jared fished the controllers out of the mess at the other end of his room and handed one to Connor and took the other for himself. Trying not to think about the fact that Connor was literally sitting there in his bed with him, he started up Call of Duty: Zombies. 

 

“Prepare to get completely  _ pounded _ , Murphy,” Jared said. Connor grinned. 

 

“Start pounding, Jared.”

 

“Don’t reference Batman in this house.” 

 

“You got the reference. Fucking nerd.” 

 

Connor was surprisingly good at the game, despite loudly proclaiming that he’d never played before, and Jared couldn’t help but find himself growing envious of Connor’s seemingly natural skill. 

 

“You suck, dude.” 

 

“Jealous, much?” Connor grinned lopsidedly at him, shooting the graphic zombies without even looking at the screen. 

 

“I fucking hate you.” 

 

“Do you really?” 

 

“Yes, and don’t tell me the feeling’s not mutual, cause you fucking,” he grunted as a zombie came after him, “find me repulsive.” Connor immediately paused at that and turned to Jared with a serious look on his face. 

 

“Hey, you know that was a joke, right?” Connor neglected his controller and propped himself up on Jared’s pillow to look at him. 

 

“You’re letting us die, Connor.” Jared pointedly avoided looking at Connor, pretending to be focused on the screen. 

 

“Jared, you know I don’t actually think you’re repulsive?” He leaned in closer, and Jared reluctantly turned to look at him. He’d never truly paid attention to the color of Connor’s eyes before, but with Connor looking earnestly and wide-eyed at him, Jared noticed that they were an incredible blue, with spots of brown, similar to Jared’s but not at the same time. Jared gulped. 

 

“Yeah, yeah I know you’re joking.” He smiled, but it looked weak. The moment was broken by a loud scream from the TV, and Jared groaned as both of their characters died. “Con- _ nor _ , you got us fucking killed.” 

 

“Sorry,” Connor said, without a trace of contrition. Jared flopped dramatically down onto his pillows, staring up at the ceiling and avoiding looking at Connor. Which proved to be a difficult task, because after a second in this position Connor curled up and laid his head on Jared’s chest. “I’m sleepy,” he murmured into Jared’s shirt. Jared’s breath hitched and he awkwardly rested a hand on Connor’s shoulder. 

 

“There are a bunch of pillows, you don’t need to use me as one,” he said, his voice sounding thin. 

 

“You’re the best pillow, though,” Connor slurred. Jared chuckled nervously. His mouth felt dry. It was one thing to sit close to Connor, but to lie here and practically  _ hold _ him was another. Jared wasn’t sure how much longer he could avoid...whatever this was that he felt. Connor laid a hand on Jared’s chest, and he wasn’t sure where this newfound boldness was coming from, but he grabbed that hand and threaded his fingers through Connor’s. Connor looked up at him, and Jared smiled softly at him. A strange look entered Connor’s eyes, as though he’d just made up his mind about something. “Thank you,” Connor said after a moment. 

 

“For what?” 

 

“For...all of this. Tonight. I really needed it.” 

 

“Yeah, no prob. Thanks for getting me back into my house.” Jared grinned. Connor shifted and went to pull something out of his pocket, untangling his hand from Jared’s. 

 

“I um, I still have your friend’s letter. I meant to give it back but I thought he’d hate me too much if I came back and besides I--” he cleared his throat. “I thought I might need it for something but it turns out I didn’t.” He took the crumpled letter out and pressed it into Jared’s hand. “Can you give that back to him when you get the chance?” 

 

“Yeah, I will.” He set the letter on his bedside table, not wanting to move too much and risk shifting Connor off of himself. 

 

“You’re a good friend to him, you know that?” Connor said, propping himself up. Jared snorted. 

 

“I’m not. I’m actually just a giant dick to him. I never say anything nice to him, even when I want to.” 

 

“Why not? I mean, you’ve been nice to me. Just send him a text like ‘hey I’m glad you exist’ or something like that.” 

 

“ _ You’re _ gonna give me a lesson in how to be nice to people?” Jared raised an eyebrow. 

 

“Okay, fair point, but I mean I apologized to Zoe indirectly through my mom, so you need to say something nice to Evan so we’re equal.” Connor lifted his chin and Jared shook his head, smiling softly. 

 

“Alright, alright.” He opened the chat with Evan. 

 

_ dude sometimes i am so fuckn glad u exist  _

 

He decided he could blame the incomprehensibility of the message on alcohol when he was sober. He heard a strange rattling sound from next to him, as though it had come from Connor’s pocket. He looked over and saw Connor pulling something (was it a bottle? Of prescription pills, perhaps?) out of his pocket and rolling it across the bed onto the floor. Jared raised an eyebrow and Connor shook his head at him. He shrugged and turned to his phone again. The response from Evan was immediate, as though he’d had the chat open already. 

 

_ I’m trying to figure out if there was something mean hidden in that message but I’m drawing a blank.  _

 

Jared frowned. Did Evan really think that about him? Well, he guessed he deserved it. Glancing at Connor, he tapped out his reply. 

 

_ no nothing mean, dude. just think ur the bees knees.  _

 

_ Oh. Thank you, Jared. :)  _

 

Jared smiled and turned off his phone and set it on his bedside table along with the letter. Connor was looking up at him with a small smile on his face. “Did you say it?” Connor asked. Jared nodded and settled back down into his pillows. He looked up at Connor, his chest growing tight. Connor tucked his hair behind his ear nervously, and Jared wondered how he could have been so wrong about Connor all this time. He’d heard so many stories, and only given credence to about half of them, but how could he have gone for so long never knowing what Connor was actually like? Perhaps he was wrong now, and this was a fluke in Connor’s behavior and he’d go crazy on him in the morning, but Jared wanted to believe he wouldn’t. He wanted to believe there was something there. That perhaps Connor would withhold being an asshole from Jared just as much as Jared would from him. He reached out and ran his thumb over Connor’s cheek. 

 

“Thank you,” Jared said. 

 

“For what?” Connor asked. He sounded breathless. 

 

“Being my exception,” he said, and pulled Connor closer to himself. Connor looked confused for a moment, but then it seemed to dawn on him when Jared leaned in so that their lips were barely an inch apart. Jared closed the distance between them and kissed Connor softly. Connor melted into the kiss, bringing his arms up to wrap around Jared. He hummed happily against Jared’s lips, and Jared reached up and ran his fingers through Connor’s hair, which elicited a small, pleased sound from him. They pulled away and Connor laid his head on Jared’s chest once more, curling up into his side. Jared wrapped his arms around Connor’s shoulders and held him close, savoring the moment. Connor tugged the blanket from where it had shifted to the end of Jared’s bed and pulled it over them. He resumed his position, and Jared softly put a hand on Connor’s hair and began to stroke it. 

 

“You’re kinda pretty, you know?” he said. Connor grinned up at him and poked his nose. 

 

“Same to you.” 

 

He smiled and gently pecked Connor on the lips again. Connor chased his lips and kissed him slowly, as though he was trying to make every second count. 

 

“We should sleep,” Jared said when Connor finally pulled away. Connor nodded and closed his eyes. “Connor, I’m really glad I got locked out of my house tonight.” 

 

Connor squeezed Jared tightly, burying his face in his chest so Jared couldn’t see him. “I’m glad you did too.” He drew in a shaky breath. “I’m so glad you did.” He kissed Connor’s head in response and squeezed his shoulders. He closed his eyes, letting his breathing slowed down to match Connor’s, and the two of them fell into a rhythm that carried them gently into sleep. 


End file.
